LGBT already have it bad without the added hate, ex-transgender tells Malaysians

GEORGE TOWN,. Society’s stigmatised views of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals only serves to worsen the discrimination facing the community, said former transgender Mohd Khariri Mohamad Ramli.

The 41-year-old teacher popularly known as Cikgu Erin said such treatment was also cruel and unproductive, when reminding the public that LGBT individuals are also huma

“If you see a ‘mak nyah’, don’t insult them, just smile to them and pray for them,” he said during a talk on LGBT awareness here.

“Insulting them will not solve anything, don’t punish them, we should help them with love and care,” he said.

He said the LGBT community was likely battling their own inner demons and did not need others to make them feel unloved.

“The biggest challenge they faced is themselves and it is not easy so we should use love and care to help them return to the right path,” he said.

Mohd Khariri himself been a transgender for 15 years until he realised that he needed to “go back to the right path” in 2012.

He said a lot of his “mak nyah” (colloquial Malay for transgender) friends struggled with mental health issues such as depression and many took drugs to maintain their figure.

Recounting his own journey, he said he had resorted to taking 10 different types of hormone pills along with an assortment of other drugs in his quest to become a woman.

He also spoke of his painful reversal after achieving the full-bodied figure of a woman.

Others were not as fortunate.

“A lot of ‘mak nyah’ committed suicide because they don’t know how to resolve their issues,” he said.

While acknowledging that LGBT orientations were not compatible with Islam, he said this did not justify further discrimination of members of the community.

Mohd Khariri said it was due to Allah and his faith in Islam that he decided to return to the right path and become a man.

“It is a tough struggle and yes, I still have inappropriate thoughts so I have to always keep a tight control of my thoughts and desires,” he said.

He added that he planned to marry in 2020 once he resolves his physical and medical issues from the many years of taking hormones and drugs, which he said has resulted in sexual impotence now.

“I want to get married not because of societal pressure but because I need a partner in life,” he said.

Mohd Khariri is a regular speaker at LGBT awareness seminars where he discusses how transgenders can revert to their original gender through the power of faith.